Life, 1929-05-10 · page 34 of 44
Life — May 10, 1929 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* collects brief satirical quips and cartoons lampooning early 20th-century social customs and news. Key items: **Gene Tunney reference**: The boxer famously killed a bull in Spain; the joke mocks his brutality by absurdly claiming the bull carried a camera—implying Tunney wanted privacy from press coverage. **Einstein joke**: Plays on Einstein's fame despite public incomprehension of his theories; suggests he should work in silent films (where talking isn't required). **Social satire**: Items mock marriage anxieties (marrying on Friday the 13th for an excuse), wives who dislike publicity yet employ publicists, and domestic violence treated as comedic (a husband "missing" his wife with thrown plates). **The cartoons** show a woman primping (vanity), another in an awkward pose, illustrating how formal etiquette and beauty standards were becoming "coldly aloof" rather than genuinely charming. The humor relies on period-specific anxieties: emerging celebrity culture, gender relations, and the gap between public propriety and private dysfunction.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JZ Gene Tunney has killed a bull in Seville. This seems heartless. It is not explained that the bull was carry- ing a camera. —Detroit News. “But why have you decided to get married on Friday, the thirteenth?” “Well, [ must have something to blame if things go wrong.” —Humorist. MANNERS AND MODES The Photograph The old time captivating smile— Einstein says there aren't ten men in the world who understand what he is talking about. Well, then, he can go to work for the talkies. —Los Angeles Examiner, A stuffed crocodile, a case of whale fins, a pump handle and a bag of ant eggs were disposed of last week at a London auction. This _ practically cleaned out the medicine cabinet. —Detroit News. A Willesden woman told the mag- istrate that her husband was contin- ually throwing plates at her, but she did not know why. Perhaps it was because he kept on missing her. —Punch. Pat Gordon tells of the wife who objected to her husband’s emphatic tirade with a stern “Don’t you dare talk to me in that movietone of voice.” —New York Evening Sun. “L wish old Ginger ’ud work round the other way—one o’ these days 'e'll be too much for my sense o’ ‘umourl According to a critic, there are many American film actresses who dislike publicity. Their publicity agents are continually reminding us of the fact. —Humorist. has given place to something cotdly aloof— One of our clergymen has discovered that a girl who works does not ruin her chances of getting a husband, and this is particularly true of a girl who works fast. —New York Evening Post. A man in America obtained a di- vorce because his wife couldn’t cook. We understand that there was an amicable arrangement regarding the custody of the tin-opener. —Humorist. —Tatler. “Was Maude in a bright red frock at the dance?” “Some of her, darling; some of her.” —Tit-Bits. Russian prison cells are to be fitted with radios. We understand that extra. precautions are being taken against attempted escapes. —London Opinion. A comical story about an absent- minded professor was told us recently by a fellow who smoked right through the cigar-band while he talked. —Detroit News. which may in time develop into something more openly hostile. —Punch (by permission). comicbooks.com